I have always passionate about STEM, I grew up in Bilbao (Spain) where I got a honorary scholarship to study a STEM university degree, which, at the time, was arguably one of the most promising, sought after, challenging and innovative degrees on offer: Telecommunications Engineering. I had no hesitation to take the opportunity and I completed both a BSc and a MSc specialised in Telematics, in the Universidad del País Vasco (UPV), in Bilbao.
My first job was in Robotiker, a Research & Development centre, where I joined team developing a GP and Hospital online referral application for the Basque National Health Service, which was recognised with a PC Week Magazine Award. This was my very exciting first-hand experience of how technology can help transform people’s lives.
I always had an interest in learning other languages and about other cultures so I then moved to London, as I thought it’d be a springboard for my personal and professional growth. Even though I had never been to the UK before nor I had any contacts in the country, after a year working in IT for the Santander Investment Bank in London, I decided to move back into Telecommunications and got a job with AT&T UK, as a Interconnect Provisioning Engineer. I spent 2 years working there and after the 2001 dot.com crash I spent some time working for Ish, a cable company in Germany. I then returned to the UK to work for Three, the then new player in the UK mobile market, and learn about mobile and 3G networks.
I have been working for O2 for the last 12 years and have been fortunate to have great managers and mentors who have given me the opportunity to take leadership roles to help shape the way we manage service for our customers. I am currently working in a very exciting O2’s Digital Transformation Programme, which is looking at the future of O2’s operation and customer experience.
I am passionate about developing and retaining talented women in technical roles and a firm believer we need to act as role models to our community of fellow Women in Tech.